This is an Imperial Stout that is of great strength and complexity. We then gently age that beer in Elaigh Craig 13 1/2 year old Bourbon Barrels for 6 months to 1 yr. and then primed and bottled to bottle condition for continued aging and celler life. Black Magick should be able to be aged up to about 5 years, to heighten the complexity and smooth nature of this beer.

App- It's a nice small stout with some good coloring. Rich deep browns with a dense black center. Some good brown head and a couple dots of cling.

Smell- A lot going on in the glass. Has a thick boozy note with a ton of oak and char with thin vanilla. Has a thicker malt backbone and just doesn't mesh well. It's okay but not the best barrel aged stout I've ever smelled.

Taste- Much like the nose there is a lot going on. Big thick malts with a vanilla side note that lends itself to a oak char and a thinner prickly flavor and a ton of booze.

2011 release, 15.5%. This beer pours a thick, fudge dark dark brown in color with little carbonation and no head. All things considered, it appears like its going to be huge.the nose is nice and balanced. There is plenty of Elijah Craig as well as fudge chocolate, roasted malts, coffee, and slight raisin. The flavors are big and chocolaty. It's fudgy and really smooth. There is no alcohol to be found. This one is silky smooth. I really like it. You would NEVER know that this is 15.5%. It's closest relative is probably Bourbon Barrel Plead the Fifth. (607 characters)

130th Review here so I wanted to have something nice for it. 2011 vintage.

Poured into a large snifter. The head rises to almost a finger high, and it's dark tan/cocoa powder in color and creamy looking texture wise. Head recedes pretty quickly though and there's little lace here at all (expected from the high alcohol content of this one). Looks thick and black as hell. I was actually surprised (though probably shouldn't have been) at how viscous the pour was.

The taste is just as wonderful as the nose. Sublimely smooth and well integrated taste for sure. Plenty of the bourbon barrel juice, vanilla, oak, toasted coconut (so tasty!) and again hints of buttery bourbon (which I've never gotten in any bbal stout before), with rich fudge, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, sweetness, roasted malts, a bit of char, caramel, dark fruits, and hints of coffee and toffee. The alcohol is actually quite subdued in this. For 15.5% I was expecting this to be hot hot hot and boozy but it was so well hidden. In a word, fantastic.

The consistency is viscous, oily, and thick, the carbonation light, body thick, full, and smooth, while the finish is lengthy but subtle leaving traces of the wonderful barrel flavors and a bit more than that of the stout type flavors. Simply lovely.

Overall I think this beer is phoenomenal. I don't know how many more adjectives I have in my bag of tricks to describe it. This beer reminds me of the first time I had KBS and how floored I was by it. Though different beers altogether, this is just another absolutely wonderful iterations of a barrel aged stout that has such great flavor and integration of the bourbon barrels and reminds me what I love so much about bourbon barrel aged stouts. Keep em coming! Also I must give a shout out and big thanks to Soonami for this bottle (and a few others) and an awesome trade a while back! Was really happy to get this. Thanks bro! (2,302 characters)

A: Pours black with a minimal head that quickly faded to collar. Wispy lace. S: Huge buttery, rich and smooth notes of Elijah Craig. EC makes every stout smell so great. MMmmm….. this is going to be good. The rich but very smooth bourbon barrel melts effortlessly with notes of chocolate, fudge, chocolate ice-cream and raisins. T: Follows the nose. This beer is amazing just below room temperature. The high alcohol is hidden very well and I only get a slight kiss of warmth. Chocolate, caramel, and raisins poke through beneath smooth EC. Finish is sweet and the aftertaste is warming but not harsh. Chocolate lingers, maybe some coffee as well.M: Not the thickest high abv bal stout but it does just fine. Alcohol is impressively hidden but is still noticeable. Mouthfeel is viscous and creamy, but the carbonation could be softer. It’s a bit tingly. O: This beer did get a little rough around the edges as it reached room temp but it still is a well made stout. I love me some EC so I might be slightly bias. (1,077 characters)

Appearance – Pours a pitch black color, with a vigorous pour giving almost no head on the beer. When swirled in the glass the beer looks thick; it slowly slides down the side of the glass, returning to it resting home with the rest of the liquid. It looks thick and big!!

Smell – The smell is huge and complex. Strong notes of bourbon and booze dominate the smell, but these are mixed with aromas of chocolate, coffee, black licorice, and some smoke and char. Just like the appearance the aroma is big and you know you are getting into something quite intense.

Taste – The taste starts out of milk chocolate and nice notes of roasted malt and a light caramel. Soon a good deal of smoke and a sweeter vanilla flavor enter the taste and mix with the original flavors. At this point the taste is overall on the sweeter side, with light hints of bitter and booze this all changes very soon however. More toward the end of the taste, a big, bold and boozy bourbon alcohol flavor come to the taste. Roasted malt and some char flavors accompany the boozy flavors, bittering up the brew and creating a less sweet but more roasty flavor. At the end, the taste is big of roast and char and mixed with the good presence of bourbon boozy taste and chocolate to leave a long lasting more bitter boozy cocoa flavor on the tongue that warms you throughout. Wonderful!!

Mouthfeel – Massively thick body on this one!!! It has a thick and smooth body that coats the entire mouth, bathing it in all the complex and roasty/dark flavors. Not surprisingly for the thickness of the brew, the carbonation level is on the lower side really allowing those flavors to sit and linger on the tongue. The heavy presence of alcohol is defiantly not missed with and creates a very warming feel on the tongue as well as the body as a whole.

Overall – The beer is huge and big with tons of roasty and boozy flavors. A brew that took nearly 1.5 hours to drink. A great one to sit back and sip; enjoying all the great flavors and sensations of the beer. (2,078 characters)

T: Sweet bourbon booziness, vanilla and whipped cream. Underlying fudge and chocolate truffle follow mid-palate as well as a few dark roast coffee beans, Raisinets and chocolate-covered peanuts. Pleasant alcohol esters are throughout and are quite mild for 15.5%. Notes of earthy charcoal stick in the throat.

M: Medium bodied, silky, warming and smooth.

O: It doesn't get more decadent than this. Tons of rich chocolate, sweet bourbon and vanilla. The booze is pleasant rather than harsh. Sip and savor. A must try for Imperial Stout enthusiasts. (817 characters)

Pours an opaque black with a dark khaki head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Tiny dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark malt, cookie dough, cocoa, and bourbon. Taste is much the same with a woody aftertaste. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good barrel aged stout but nothing all that great. (473 characters)

T - Big bourbon flavour up front with oak and some light vanilla notes. The alcohol is very warming throughout as would be expected considering the ABV. The barrel aging flavours give way to roasted malts, char and some sweet chocolate that is especially present in the finish. A touch hot overall.

M - Full body, sludgy. Light carbonation.

O - A very good beer that could probably benefit from some aging. (684 characters)

A - Pours black as night and looks pretty thick. The beer is completely opaque. It produces a 1/4" of dark tan head that fades away pretty quickly, not bad considering the high abv.

S - The aroma is great. Bourbon really stands out along with notes of vanilla, chocolate, and roasted malts.

M - Full in body, creamy and smooth. A little bit of syrup, but not what I expected for such a big beer.

T - The barrel character is very prominent in the beer. I get oak flavors first followed by bourbon. There are then light notes of vanilla and some stronger chocolate flavors. Very nicely done. Alcohol is only slightly detectable, they did a good job hiding it.

This beer has just the right amount of barrel character and they hide the booziness well. This is a very good beer, and I would willingly seek out more. (829 characters)

A- A hard pour does produce a thick 2 1/2 finger silky looking mocha head. It lasts for quite awhile too, I had not expected there to be any. Color is obviously pitch black with no light getting through what so ever. Theres even sticky lacing on the glass. Good looking stout.

S- Deep dark roast. Very charred malt, blended in with flavors of vanilla. The booze is here but its in the form of a lovely bourbon. The Elijah Craig barrels are definitely on display here. I also detect some dark fruit in here also. Letting this sit for about 7 months has probably helped on the nose.

T- Wow. Honestly this is the most intense stout I have ever had. Oh so bitter burnt and crisp malt, stingingly bitter. The bourbon then rushes in strongly to make its presence known. Slight booze burn from it, but its more the bourbon flavor than anything. Theres also an aftertaste of chocolate, and a few notes of coffee. The sheer power of this stout and the bourbon presence is unreal. I feel like if I let this sit longer it would've mellowed some and been better. Still good.

M- Full bodied stout with medium amounts of carbonation. Theres a heat from the high amounts of booze. Very thick and silky.

O- Pretty taken aback by this. I expected a big stout but did not expect THIS intensity. I think the best thing to do for this beer is get as many bottles as you can, and sit on them for as long as you can. This thing probably has infinite shelf life. At least a year after bottling would be best if you wait. This thing has a lot of potential with time.

Edit: This becomes more tolerable as it warms to room temp. (1,622 characters)

Voodoo horizontal. A well balanced beer, emphasizing the bitterness of the hops and roasted malt. Chocolate and coffee in the secondary. Smooth, thick mouthfeel. Bourbon, chocolate, roast in the nose. Very dark brown with little head. Rich experience, aging has given it some notes of cognac. (292 characters)

A: Pours dark dark brown with a small light brown head that quickly fades to a ring and leaves only the smallest lacing when swirled around. It actually leaves legs on the glass like a fine liquor.

S: The nose is huge on this monster. Amazing aromas of vanilla, molasses, slightly burnt brown sugar, powdered cocoa, and even whisps of whiskey burst from the glass. I could smell this as I was pouring it and could tell it was a beast.

O: This is about on the same level as GI BCS. A huge beer that is definitely a sipper. I wouldn't want more than one in a sitting and would only partake every once in a while. Great flavors and aromas. It's big and boozy but what do you expect from a 15% beer? (895 characters)

S: Powerfully intense nose. Port and brandy aromas, fortified fruit strength, pairs with the traditional bourbon aromas of vanilla and coconut, resulting in a big aroma. Dark sweetness runs throughout, the vanilla pairing well with the RIS's murkiness. For being so big, the booze doesn't bog the stout down.

T: The barrel aging is still vibrant but I fear that the stout may have lost a step. The bourbon, over the port and brandy from the nose, stands out. It adds sweet vanilla against the backdrop of roasted malts, baker's chocolate and coffee. The stout body is big, the booze can't hide here. Bourbon is upfront and returns later in each sip; although the burnt malts of the stout are the lasting impression to me. While thin at times, the stout is still bold. Slow sipping brings more vanilla in the finish. Unfortunately the port and brandy from the nose don't make appearances here (that nose has Utopias-like qualities).

M: Plenty of alcohol, I ended up splitting the bottle with Kate (I did get more than she did). Heady and full with a nice bourbon body. (1,301 characters)

Best Imerial Stout I've ever had! A-Dark as can be of course.S-The smell on this can only be descibed as Mystical Unicorn Farts, which is the best smell in the world.T-like heaven in a glassM-Smooth....O-The new King of StoutsDrink It! It's Good!Pappy Says So.... (270 characters)

A - A half finger's worth of tightly packed perfectly uniform lush creamy medium-to-dark brown colored head... Minimal retention gives way to a full veil of lace and moderately thick collar... Some deliberately slow paced carbonation to start before turning quite still... The color is not quite black, but rather a deep menacing brown that allows a small bit of light to leak in around the top edge of the glass...

S - A wonderfully complex array of aromas... Raisins... Light enticing bourbon notes... Vanilla... Some roasted malts... A drop or two of soy sauce... Sweet chocolate syrup... Outstanding and nothing short of perfection in this category...

T - A wonderful carbonation of subtle bourbon barrel aging and milk chocolate to start... Very lightly roasted malts... A hint of soy sauce... Vanilla... A touch of licorice on the finish... The bourbon notes linger on the finish in a very delicious way...

D - Wow, this is an AWESOME brew... Dangerously drinkable and ridiculously smooth... There aren't enough accolades to go around for this world class offering from Pennsylvania's most underrated breweries... (1,275 characters)

We had to take it easy this night so we only had one bomber (50/50 Eclipse EG) but because that was just not enough Jeffo decided to break this one out...

12 oz shared between the two of us poured into a Surly snifter.

Menacing is a term used for a beer as thick, sludgy and black as this. The minimal head did not survive very long on this one.

Loads of boozy sweetness on the nose combined with caramel, vanilla, roasted malts and oak.

Flavors are like a rollercoaster. It starts out all fruity with some of the vanilla and the caramel from the nose. In the middle the oak notes and the malt base shine and some of the barrel becomes present. After the swallow it's like an explosion of bourbon barrel flavors that end with a very pleasant bitterness.

A heavy mouthfeel. Boozy but in a most pleasant way.

Overall this is one of the better barrel aged stouts out there. The flavors evolve while drinking which I found to be very cool. I can highly recomend this and would buy every single time I run across this.

12oz bottle with no freshness date. This was released in 2011 and aged for 1 year in my basement.

Pitch black in color with a beige colored head which stood less than one finger tall following an aggressive pour. Very little in the way of retention or lace, but this is 15.5% alcohol!

Aroma is an appealing blend of wood, alcohol, bourbon, vanilla and char.

Malty, yet a bit thin up front. Very little carbonation (too little as the matter of fact). Nice bourbon and oak flavors. Alcohol hits you about midway with a nice warming sensation. Maybe a hint a of dark chocolate near the end. Most if not all of the flavors linger on in the finish.

Medium bodied (which is thin for the style) with almost no carbonation.

A good BA IS overall, but the lack of bubbles brings this beer down a couple of notches.

Morey's Bottom Line: I can't say it enough...if the carbonation was there, this would be an extremely good beer, plain and simple. Only a couple other reviewers seem to mention this, but there is NO carbonation in this bottle. Maybe if I wouldn't have paid $9 for a 12oz bottle, I'd be more forgiving...but probably not. (1,132 characters)

Pitch black hue. Tiny wisp of head. Earthy malts, chocolate, coffee, hint of booze. The flavors are mostly bitter chocolate and roast malt. The heat is pretty intense. Thick motor oil body. Surprisingly this drink pretty good for a 15% beer. Would love to age one for a few years. (326 characters)

I am down to my last couple of bottles and seriously cannot believe I never took the time to review one of these. With the talk of the next years release (batch 3) already in the air, I was amazed that I haven't reviewed either previous batch so this one is from the latest release (batch 2). 12oz bottle into a snifter, the brew appears black with a finger of tan head that slowly recedes. When held to the light, a faint line of lighter brown clarity is seen around the edge. As the cap slowly fades, some finger-like strings of lace stick to the wall of the glass.

The smell of this brew is absolutely rich with bourbon barrel qualities. A sweet boozy inclusion hits the nose first with an alcohol tang that gives way to all the succulent barrel qualities and nuances. Vanilla, coconut, cocoa, caramel... all of it is here with a solid balance that contrasts the dark bitter grain base. Coffee and light citrus notes are a faint afterthought to the backend of the nose.

The taste is almost a sick joke as it takes all the wonderful aromas and packs it seeming with identical quality in the flavor. There is no denying the bourbon heat that is upfront in the flavor profile that gives way to a hearty bitter roasted grain quality that is flavored with coffee and unsweetened cocoa. As the beer rests inside the mouth, the subtle barrel quality comes forth with a flavor of caramel, toasted oak, vanilla and coconut. The vanilla lingers in the mouth mixed with the grain that really draws out the chocolate flavoring.

This is a full bodied brew with a light level of carbonation. After a couple of sips I have to laugh because now I remember why I haven't reviewed this yet. Every time I crack one of these open, I just want to sit and enjoy it without thinking about it. This is a fantastic brew that is one of the best barrel aged beers coming out of my home state. If you love bold, aggressive flavored imperial stouts, this is an absolute must-try. I feel bad for recalling from memory at this point but after recently having both batch 1 and 2 in a side by side tasting, it is amazing how this batch 2 drinks a bit more mellow and better balanced. (2,156 characters)

A- Pours jet black, almost no light around the edges. Tan head down to a thin cap on the beer, leaving little lace clinging to the glass.

S- Wow, lots of bourbon aroma in the nose. Tough to get past it to pick anything else out. Maybe a hint of sweet milk chocolate. Still lots of bourbon smells to go around here!

T- Earthy, woody, bourbon flavor mixed with a dark roasted chocolate flavor right up front. Surprisingly smooth drink. While a lot of bourbon flavor, sweet chocolate and hints of vanilla blend nicely. As it warms, flavors come out of the background. Nice roasty flavors. Make for a very nice drink!

M- Full body, good carbonation. Smooth, creamy feel. Not to chewy feeling like other barrel aged beers.

O- If you like bourbon aged stouts, this is one for you. Even with the heavy bourbon to it, still a easy to drink beer. Very much enjoyed this one. Would love to get some more of this next time it comes out for sure. Can't wait! (1,000 characters)

T: Holy hell this thing is big. Alcohol burn out the ass. Like the nose there's, licorice and charred ash tray. Coffee oak and vanilla.Overall it's dominated by a burnt alcohol flavor. Very sweet and sticky on the finish.

Pours out a completely expected black with a very thin dark brown head. Aroma was bourbon heat, at this point, I was not expecting greatness, you have a substantial boozy heat coming through in the nose.

But then it was love at first sip, the booze was really diminished on the palate, allowed the bourbon to come across in a behind the scenes way, wasn't hot at all, made me think of all the iipa's at 7.5% that seemed to have more heat to them. Lots of toffee. Fair amount of chocolate. Great mouthfeel, doesn't get tired, and is far from a chore to finish, unlike many other beers in this neighborhood of 15%.

Thanks to whoever it was that threw this in as an extra, and then koufax21 for throwing me another. Drank this after the bama/lsu game and during ufc 138. (770 characters)